For those of us who came of age in the '40s and '50s, there was a great deal more about the negative attitudes toward women than Parker and others capture in their discussions of Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique."

Although I was neither wealthy (making ends meet for our family was a challenge) nor privileged (my 24/7 duties left me feeling tired, rather than privileged), Betty Friedan's book resonated with me.

At that time, around 1963, there was a pervasive disrespect and trivialization of woman that permeated all levels of society. The care and nurture of children, characterized as "women's work," was especially devalued. The younger the children being cared for, the greater the disrespect towards those who cared for (or taught) them. And despite occasional bouts of sentimentality about motherhood, caring for one's own child was certainly less worthy of respect than caring or nurturing some else's child.

The feminist "revolution" has changed, for the better, many attitudes and opportunities for women. But Parker is correct that it did not change the culture's essentially hostile attitude toward children and raising children.

Feminism neither created nor advanced the "notion that caring for children posed an obstacle to self-realization." Rather, it failed to effectively change the reality of what caring for children means for both men and women.